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Meeting our climate goals will not be possible without a profound rethink of our relationship with resources. From 9 to 13 November, Circul'R will be in Antalya for COP31, with six speaking engagements addressing a fundamental question: how can we finance and accelerate the scale-up of the circular economy?

COP31 opens in Antalya on 9 November in a difficult context. Ten years after its adoption, the goals of the Paris Agreement are far from being met and climate multilateralism is under severe strain. At the same time, geopolitical tensions are exposing companies to price volatility and supply disruptions.

Against this backdrop, one conviction is gaining ground: reducing our dependence on virgin resources is no longer just an environmental imperative, it is a condition for economic resilience. Europe is preparing to make it a pillar of its industrial policy, with the Circular Economy Act, the forthcoming European regulation on the circular economy, expected in early December.

The circular economy reduces demand for raw materials, extends product lifespans and limits waste generation. It is a climate lever that complements decarbonisation. But it still has to be financed and scaled up: access to capital remains one of the main barriers to moving beyond pilot projects and deploying entire value chains.

This is the message Circul'R will carry to Antalya. On the programme: a session organised on the Francophonie Pavilion, a round table on the UNDP Pavilion, a side event with ADEME on the France Pavilion, as well as interventions alongside the Turkish development bank TSKB, on the Spanish Pavilion and with the Zero Waste Foundation.

Why does the circular economy belong at COP31?

Stemming from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, adopted in 1992, climate COPs have historically been tasked with reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Energy-related topics have therefore long been central: phasing out fossil fuels, deploying renewables, consuming less and better.

Essential as it is, this energy-based approach covers only part of the problem. Behind every product lies a chain of emissions: extracting raw materials, processing them, manufacturing and transporting goods, using them, then treating the waste they become at end of life. Decarbonised energy will not be enough if we keep consuming ever more resources.

This is precisely the territory of the circular economy: using fewer materials, making those we use last longer and reintroducing them into production cycles rather than throwing them away. It thus acts at the source on emissions that the energy transition alone cannot address. Long left on the margins of the negotiations, it is now establishing itself as a climate lever in its own right, complementary to the decarbonisation of energy.

Beyond climate, the circular economy responds to a sovereignty imperative. Geopolitical tensions expose companies to price volatility and supply disruptions, as Jules Coignard, co-founder of Circul'R, points out in Les Echos' COP31 special published on 9 November. Recycling critical materials, extending the lifespan of equipment or developing reuse helps secure supplies as much as it reduces environmental footprint.

The policy framework is moving in this direction. At European level, the Commission is due to present the Circular Economy Act, the forthcoming regulation on the circular economy, in early December. It will send a strong signal to manufacturers and financiers alike.

One barrier remains: circular models struggle to find financing. Their risk and return profiles are poorly understood by banks, their assets are sometimes atypical, and their markets are still emerging. Removing these barriers is the condition for moving from pilot projects to large-scale value chains. These issues of financing and scale-up, which Circul'R has been observing in the field for years, will be at the heart of our interventions in Antalya.

Circul'R's agenda at COP31

Six events in five days, on five pavilions. Financing, Mediterranean cooperation, sustainable industry: each sheds light on one facet of the same question, that of scaling up the circular economy.

Monday 9 November, 3:30 pm: "Circular finance for climate" - on the Francophonie Pavilion

The first highlight of the week: a session organised and moderated by Circul'R, hosted by the Institut de la Francophonie pour le développement durable (IFDD) on the climate ePavilion.

Jérémie Bonhomme, Public Policy Director at Circul'R, will address the challenges of financing the circular economy and the levers for accelerating its scale-up: how financiers can better assess circular business models, which instruments, banking or otherwise, make it possible to move from pilot to deployment, and how public finance, banks, producer responsibility organisations and companies can better share risks.

Tuesday 10 November, 11 am: "Coalitions moving from dialogue to action" - on the UNDP Pavilion

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is launching its Just Transition Platform at COP31. The round table will examine how coalitions can better support the leadership of young people and women in this transition, bringing together institutional partners, financial players and companies.

Circul'R will share its experience of building multi-stakeholder coalitions: bringing companies, including competitors, producer responsibility organisations, financiers and public authorities around the same table to jointly remove the technical, economic and regulatory barriers holding back scale-up and to co-design concrete solutions. This experience sheds light on the question at the heart of the debate: how to ensure that partnerships do not remain at the dialogue stage, but deliver tangible results, in service of a fairer and more inclusive transition.

Tuesday 10 November, 3 pm: "Financing circular industry in Turkey" - on the TSKB stand

TSKB, a private Turkish development bank, is holding an event on the circular economy and sustainable industry on its stand. Circul'R will speak alongside the French Development Agency (AFD) and client companies of the bank.

An opportunity to look back on a pioneering partnership: since 2022, AFD has opened two credit lines dedicated to the circular economy for TSKB, of €80 million and then €150 million, together with a technical assistance programme to which Circul'R contributes. A concrete example of what an alliance between a development bank, a national bank and technical support can achieve: identifying and financing circular projects in industry.

Wednesday 11 November, 11:30 am: "The circular economy in the Mediterranean" - on the France Pavilion

Co-organised with ADEME, which leads the Circe.med initiative, this side event is part of the official programme of the France Pavilion, selected from 250 applications. It takes place during the day dedicated to "zero waste".

Circe.med identifies and promotes circular solutions in Mediterranean countries, particularly in response to plastic pollution. Circul'R will contribute its experience of financing the circular economy, from France to Turkey. Jérémie Bonhomme, Public Policy Director at Circul'R, will discuss with ADEME, the French Partnership for Waste, the association La Saison Bleue, Expertise France and TSKB.

Wednesday 11 November, 1 pm: "Circular economy: good practices and national and international experiences" - on the Spanish Pavilion

Straight afterwards, Jean Billant, Associate Director at Circul'R, will speak at a round table on good practices in the circular economy and its contribution to decarbonisation.

Organised by the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and moderated by its Commissioner for the Circular Economy, Alejandro Dorado, it will bring together the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre, the energy company Redeia, the bank BBVA and Inter IKEA Group.

Alongside the Spanish experience, Circul'R will share insights on the deployment of the circular economy in France following the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy law (AGEC), adopted in 2020: extension of extended producer responsibility schemes, a ban on destroying unsold non-food goods, the repairability index. What the law has set in motion, but also the implementation difficulties and the levers still to be activated. The session will also review the European Circular Economy Act. A natural continuation of the morning's Mediterranean momentum.

Friday 13 November, 10:45 am: "Credit Line for Circularity" - with the Zero Waste Foundation

The week concludes with the Zero Waste Foundation, chaired by the First Lady of Turkey and involved in organising COP31. Its session "Credit Line for Circularity" goes to the heart of our topic: how dedicated credit lines can accelerate circular investment.

More details on the session to come.

Three convictions we will carry to COP31

These convictions are not theoretical: each is grounded in projects that Circul'R carries out with its partners, in France and internationally.

1. Without appropriate financing, the circular economy will remain at pilot stage

Circular solutions exist. What they most often lack is access to capital to deploy. Financiers still know little about their risk and return profiles: uncertain supply contracts, offtake to be secured, sometimes atypical assets.

Scaling up requires tools suited to these models. This means dedicated banking and non-banking instruments, but also technical support for financiers, so that they know how to identify, assess and support the development of circular projects.

This is the purpose of the technical assistance programme Circul'R is running with TSKB, together with its Turkish partners Circolab and Por Muta, in support of AFD's credit lines. Diagnostics, benchmarking of development bank practices, impact measurement tools, training pathways for teams: the aim is to make the circular economy a banking expertise in its own right.

It is also the ambition of the Circular Finance Coalition, launched by Circul'R in 2024 to enable banks and insurers to finance the circular transition based on concrete cases. It now brings together five of the six largest French banks (BNP Paribas, BPCE, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, La Banque Postale) and the energy company EDF, alongside ADEME and the French Ministry for Ecological Transition.

Its first year led to the report "Financing the circular economy: barriers and opportunities", published in October 2025. It sets out three avenues for changing financing tools: adapting financing to often deferred profitability, anticipating the residual value of circular assets and revising risk assessment tools. The second year put these avenues to the test in strategic sectors: lithium-ion battery, titanium and copper recycling, and waste heat recovery. Its findings will be presented in a report released on 10 November 2026.

2. Collective action is the best accelerator

No single player will remove the barriers to deploying the circular economy on its own. Some levers lie with banks, others with public authorities, manufacturers or producer responsibility organisations.

That is why Circul'R has been betting on coalitions for years. They bring together players who do not always talk to each other, sometimes competitors. Pooling lowers costs and multiplies impact.

The Circular Industry Coalition is a good example. Led by Circul'R with CEA ISEC and with the support of the French Directorate General for Enterprise, it brings together nine major manufacturers: Alstom, Equans, Forvia, Legrand, Rexel, RTE, Safran, Groupe SEB and Thales. Its work, published in February 2026, identifies four risks linked to maintaining the linear model: geopolitical tensions, volatility of material and energy prices, resource criticality and changes in the regulatory framework. Its conclusion: circularity and competitiveness go hand in hand, and the circular economy has become a lever for industrial resilience and sovereignty.

Beyond finance and industry, Circul'R leads many other sector coalitions, from cosmetic packaging reuse to e-commerce.

3. Solutions are shared through international cooperation

France has developed tools to support the circular economy, such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes, which mobilise financial resources for reduction, reuse and recycling. These tools are not perfect and continue to evolve, but their lessons can inform other contexts.

Conversely, we have a great deal to learn from our partners. The Mediterranean, the Francophonie and Turkey are all spaces where these exchanges take shape. Our presence on five different pavilions reflects this conviction: circularity is built from one shore to the other.

This cooperation also plays out at European level. Circul'R is a member of the coordination group of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP), convened by the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee. It is the only French organisation in this body. There, we represent the companies we support through our missions, our coalitions and our Club Circul’R. In 2026, we consolidated their recommendations to contribute to the preparatory work on the Circular Economy Act and presented our work on financing the circular economy at the platform's annual conference. We also take part in its working group on value chains, which maps the barriers and levers to circularity in several key sectors, drawing on the experience of our coalitions.

Antalya, a milestone rather than a destination

One COP will not be enough to remove the barriers to financing the circular economy. But it offers a rare space to bring together development banks, public institutions, commercial banks and companies from several continents. We intend to make it an accelerator for the partnerships we are building and to come back with new avenues of work, which we will share with the more than 100 companies that meet every quarter within the Club Circul'R.

To follow our week in Antalya:

• On LinkedIn, we will share our interventions from 9 to 13 November.
• In Les Echos, read Jules Coignard's analysis in the special report on COP31 and the collective dynamics of the circular economy, published on 9 November.
• On the website of the French Ministry for Ecological Transition, the full programme of the France Pavilion is online.
• On this website, we will publish a debrief after the conference.

Will you be in Antalya? Contact us to meet us there.

FAQ

What is at stake at COP31 for the circular economy?

COP31 takes place in Antalya from 9 to 13 November 2026. For the circular economy, the challenge is to be recognised as a climate lever in its own right, complementary to the decarbonisation of energy: it acts at the source on emissions linked to the extraction, manufacture and end of life of products. It also responds to a sovereignty challenge in the face of price volatility and supply disruptions. The main barrier remains financing: moving circular models from pilot project to large-scale deployment.

What are the main barriers to financing the circular economy?

The risk and return profiles of circular models are still poorly understood by financiers: often deferred profitability, uncertain supply contracts, offtake to be secured, atypical assets and emerging markets. Removing these barriers requires dedicated banking and non-banking instruments and technical support for financiers.

What is a credit line dedicated to the circular economy?

It is financing that a development bank makes available to a national bank so that it can finance circular projects for its industrial clients. Since 2022, AFD has opened two credit lines of €80 million and then €150 million for the Turkish bank TSKB, together with a technical assistance programme to which Circul'R contributes: diagnostics, impact measurement tools and training for banking teams.

What is Circul'R's Circular Finance Coalition?

Launched by Circul'R in 2024, it helps banks and insurers finance the circular transition based on concrete cases. It brings together BNP Paribas, BPCE, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, La Banque Postale and EDF, alongside ADEME and the French Ministry for Ecological Transition.

What is the Circular Economy Act?

It is the forthcoming European regulation on the circular economy, which the European Commission is due to present in early December. It aims to make reducing dependence on virgin resources a pillar of European industrial policy.